Even with the power of the internet …

Even with the power of the internet, sometimes it isn’t possible find what you’re looking for. My recent search may have been a little niche, but I was disappointed not to find exactly want I wanted.

It all started with a sleepless night, and a couple of hours listening to “Through the night” on BBC Radio 3. This wasn’t a ‘live’ programme … it was one I’d recorded in February 2009. For some reason (which now escapes me) I’d recorded a whole week’s worth … and never listened to them.

On Monday 23rd February 2009 at 5:49 am, Bach’s Double concerto in C minor, BWV 1060 for Oboe and Violin, was played. How do I know such precise details? Knowing the date of the broadcast, I was able to look up the information on the BBC Radio 3 website in a matter of minutes. It was a particularly enchanting piece, and I decided I’d like to buy it.

After some research , I found a couple of versions available on CD. I also found parts of it on YouTube. None were the version I’d heard on the radio, by Camerata Köln. And the variation in the way the music had been played and recorded was quite

astounding – some too fast, other ponderous and dull. Having liked the first version I’d heard, it was tough finding one I liked which I could buy.

The two subsets … those I could listen to, and those I could buy … barely overlapped. And that’s what I found frustrating about my internet research. I consulted by Gramophone and Penguin Guides … but that didn’t help either.

In the end, I bought a version by the Cologne Chamber Orchestra (from the same city as Camerata Köln, but a different group of musicians). The CD has four other oboe concertos, but none match the beauty of BWV 1060.

So, a frustrating internet search, but a happy ending. Thank you J S Bach for such wonderful music.